


Things Everyone Knows About Sentinels

by FoxDragon



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Sentinels and Guides Are Known, Clint 'Why yes I WAS raised in a circus why do you ask?' Barton, Clint doesn't care what you think, Clint is NOT your normal Sentinel, M/M, Phil isn't a very normal Guide either, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-05
Updated: 2014-05-18
Packaged: 2018-01-22 00:13:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1568975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoxDragon/pseuds/FoxDragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are some things that everyone knows about Sentinels and Guides, certain tidbits and facts that are common knowledge among the general public. Trouble is, no one ever told Clint Barton that most of this shit was supposed to apply to him as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sentinels Are Tidy And Organized

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be a collection of short drabbles and ficlets about how Clint Barton is not your typical sentinel, and Phil isn't really a typical guide. 
> 
> I'm trying to get myself back into writing, it's been a few years so comments, critique, constructive criticism, suggestions and idea's are all welcome!
> 
> And thanks to everyone who takes the time to read this!

**Everyone Knows that Sentinels are tidy, orderly people that keep their work And living spaces clean and organized.**

Phil sighed as he picked up the blanket bunched at the end of the couch and sure enough, there was his sweatshirt. The one that Clint had ‘borrowed’ from his locker after his workout nearly two weeks ago, worn home and then promptly ‘lost’ somewhere in the condo. Shaking his head he added the sweatshirt to the growing pile of laundry. He was never again going to make the mistake of waiting for Clint to do his own damn laundry, there was dirty clothing in every corner of the bedroom and the living room, the only space that had been spared Barton’s complete lack of housekeeping was Phil’s home office.

Not even the top ranked Bonded Sentinel in SHIELD was willing to infringe upon his guide’s space. Or at least, infringe and leave dirty socks behind him.

Although… watching the way the baby agents gawked at his sentinel wearing only a tank top and swimming shorts with his feet bare inside his combat boots was very entertaining… but really not quite entertaining enough to make the several loads of laundry in his near future with it.

At least there weren’t as many flies as the one and only time he had tried to teach Clint to wash his own dirty dishes.


	2. Sentinels Dont Have Pets

**Everyone Knows that Sentinels are sensitive to animal hair and dandruff, and avoid close interactions with animals as much as they can manage, and they certainly don’t have pets!**

 

Rubbing the back of his neck, Phil pushed away from his desk. The endless piles of paperwork that came with his job were bad enough when handled at his main office, but even worse when things were so busy he had to take forms home with him. Gathering up his empty mug he stretched and headed downstairs to see when dinner would be ready to eat, he certainly didn’t need to be a sentinel to be tortured by the amazing smells that had been wafting through the condo. 

 

The kitchen was empty save for the large pot on the stove, slowly simmering the rich stew that had been tempting him for the last hour or so. Setting his mug by the coffee pot he looked over the bar area that separated the kitchen from the dining room, and beyond it the living room. What he saw sorely tempted him to grab his phone for a picture.

 

Clint had fallen asleep on the couch, no doubt as exhausted by the last few days as Phil was. Both of Phil’s cats had joined him, one curled behind the curve of his knees, and the other was perched, legs tucked neatly under her body, on Clint’s chest. Lucky, Clint’s somewhat bedraggled, one-eyed dog was stretched out on the floor along the base of the couch, taking advantage of where the edge of Clint’s blanket had draped over the side and fallen to the floor.

 

Smiling to himself at the sight Phil poured a bit more coffee into his mug and filled a bowl with some stew, turning the heat on the stove down to low so it wouldn’t scald. Just one more hour, he promised himself. One more hour of paperwork and then if Clint hadn’t woken up and eaten already, he would get his sentinel fed and into bed.


	3. Sentinels May Be Temperamental, But Guides are Always Calm and In Control

**Everyone Knows that Sentinels are short tempered, and their Guides are the calm, reasonable half of the partnership.**

Clint propped his chin on the back of Tony’s couch and watched his guide pacing quick angry strides around the plush penthouse. He had his phone in a vise-like grip and was muttering under his breath a plethora of threats and curses. 

The couch dipped low next to him and he glanced over to see Steve settling onto the smooth leather next to him, also watching Phil with a cautious fascination.

“That senator causing trouble again?” The other sentinel asked, voice pitched low to avoid attracting the attention of the guide on the warpath.

Clint shook his head and pulled out his own phone, after a few clicks he navigated to a facebook page and showed it to Steve. The picture showed a teenage boy and girl at what looked like a carnival of some sort, the caption proclaiming. “A perfect day with the perfect GF, Totally in LOVE!”

Steve gave him a confused look. “and that is…?”

“Coulson’s niece’s boyfriend. Well…. Ex-boyfriend’

“I take it that girl isn’t his niece then?”

A wry grin. “Hence the ‘ex’ part.” He scrolled down to show Steve the comments on the photo so he could read the gory details of a teenage social media breakup.

Once he had finished he just shook his head, glancing back at Phil as he continued to mutter angrily at his phone.

“That kid will be lucky if all he gets is tasered to the balls.” He observed.

Clint just shrugged. “Eh, they’re teens. They live to make drama. She’ll get over it, they’ve only been dating for like, two months anyways, and Phil was even more pissed when he heard she was dating at ALL. He’s just an overprotective mamma bear when it comes to his family.”

Steve nodded slowly and turned to sit on the couch properly. After a moment Clint followed suit.

“So what brings you upstairs? I thought you were spending that afternoon with Tony?”

Steve shrugged loosely “I was but… Apparently some other company, Cooper Digital or something, released a new…. Something, I don’t know, and something about it has Tony pissed. I’m not entirely sure what, or why, but he was pretty cross….”

A chuckle “Ahhh, pitching a bitch as well is he?”

Steve wryly rubbed the back of his neck “Well, I decided to leave the workshop when he started throwing things so um… yea. He is.”


	4. Sentinels are Aware of Everything Around Them At All Times

**Everyone Knows that Sentinels are constantly aware of their surroundings, casually monitoring everything around them with their heightened senses.**

Clint leveled a glare at Phil “Not a word. Not. One. Word.”

Phil smirked, pushing his sunglasses up on his nose. “I don’t know what your expecting me to say. Clearly that light pole jumped right in front of you when you weren’t looking. You were an innocent victim.”

Clint glared harder. “A good guide would have sympathy.”

Phil snorted “A good guide would point out that at least Tony didn’t see that.”  
Clint paled at the thought “Oh god if you say ANYTHING to ANYONE you will be sleeping on the couch!”

His partner just laughed and continued down the street, calling back over his shoulder. “Next time more looking where you’re going, and less angry birds!”

The sentinel pouted at his phone.

“Aww, angry birds, no.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if it isn't clear, they were walking down the street and Clint was so engrossed in the game on his phone that he walked right into a light pole. And of course Phil just let him. Because Clint is a dork and Phil enjoys the fact that Clint is a dork.


	5. Sentinels are Very Sensative to Strong and Spicy Flavors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 60 hour weeks are not conductive to writing. or anything really... except my bank account maybe.

**Everyone Knows that Sentinels tend to enjoy mild foods with delicate and comforting flavors, and can be easily overwhelmed by heavy or spicy flavors.**

“Ahem!”

Clint paused, spoon halfway to his open mouth, and looked at the agent that had cleared his throat. The man (approximately 6 foot 4, well-muscled but not chiseled, in shape but didn’t live in the gym, field agent, red a blue Sentinel Registry pin on his lapel, prominently placed, calling attention to his status openly – government busy-body), had the spit-polished, stiff backed posture of a baby agent, probably newly transferred from the FBI or maybe the CIA (he looked too comfortable in the suit to have been army) and the slightly shorter man behind his shoulder (Blue and green Guide registry pin, also fit but less so, face too young for his receding hair line, clearly uncomfortable at the attention his Sentinel was calling to them) still had that wide eyed uncertain look of someone who had just had his perception of the world vastly shifted.   
He let the spoon fall back into the Styrofoam container and leaned back in his chair, giving the man his full attention. “Something I can help you with?”

The man gave him a withering look. Or a look that would have been withering if Clint didn’t get better from the Director himself on a near weekly basis. (You know what Barton? I don’t want to know How you filled Mathieson’s office to the ceiling with ping-pong balls, I don’t even want to know WHY, I just want you to NOT. DO. IT. AGAIN.)

“This is the Sentinels lunch room.”

Clint nodded slowly as if expecting more, when the man just glared at him he said “Yeeeesssss…. That is what the sign on the door says.”

“Well that means that this lunch room is for sentinels and guides Only.”

Another slow nod. “One would expect that’s what it means, yes.”

Seeing that the interaction clearly was not going well the guide stepped forward, laying a comforting hand on his partner’s forearm. “Look, I understand that you’ve probably been a with SHIELD for a while, and maybe it’s not been a big issue but um… well the reason why sentinels are afforded a special lunchroom is because some things can irritate their senses and make them very uncomfortable.” 

Clint continued to nod, somewhat impressed. The shorter man was clearly uncomfortable with the confrontation, but he didn’t stutter even once, of course he had qualified to join SHIELD just like his partner so he couldn’t really be incompetent. 

He pressed his hands together and continued when Clint didn’t comment. “Well, what I guess I’m trying to say is that bringing something like a hot curry” he nodded at Clint’s lunch. “Can make a sentinel very uncomfortable, even from several feet away the spices and peppers can affect their senses, and even their health, so really, the Sentinel lunch room is not to be used by agents that aren’t Sentinel’s or Guides.” He managed to make the explanation sound apologetic.

Clint folded his hands on the table sitting forward in his chair. “Look, I get that whatever alphabet soup agency you guys are from likes to treat sentinels like delicate little flowers that have to be protected from every little edge the world has.” Wow, that guy gained almost a full inch in height in just a couple seconds! “But this is SHIELD, welcome to the deep end, you had better start swimming or you are just going to sink.” He picked the spoon back up and took another bite of his 3 star Thai curry (it was only 3 stars! That wasn’t even that spicy!)

The new agent sputtered. “Y-you! What is your name and rank agent, you’re S.O. is going to be hearing about this!”

“Barton” Clint looked past the two men at Natasha then quickly started to shovel curry into his mouth as fast as he could manage as she approached. “Stop screwing with the newbies and grab your gear, we’re wheels up in ten, helipad four.” She barely glanced at the men. “And for future reference Agent Barton is SHIELD’s Senior Bonded Sentinel, so his S.O. would be Senior Bonded Guide Agent Coulson, or Director Fury.”

With a last hasty mouthful and a quick swig of soda to wash it down Clint closed the foam lid, tossed the take-out box over his shoulder into the garbage bin on the other side of the room, and followed her out of the lunchroom leaving the new agents to gawk at each other behind them.


End file.
